I have the Nikon Coolpix L100. It takes great pictures, great video and has very good sound. Amazing for closeups and extremely good for far zooms. Has 10 megapixles and a 15x optical zoom. The only thing is that it is lacking any sort of customization as far as shutter speed and contrast, etc. It's basically an idiot's camera; a high-end point and shoot where you want great pics but you don't want to mess with any settings. Even if you wanted to, there are none to change. Sometimes I wish I could change settings, but the pics are just so good.http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Pr...OLPIX-L100.html

I have the Nikon Coolpix L100. It takes great pictures, great video and has very good sound. Amazing for closeups and extremely good for far zooms. Has 10 megapixles and a 15x optical zoom. The only thing is that it is lacking any sort of customization as far as shutter speed and contrast, etc. It's basically an idiot's camera; a high-end point and shoot where you want great pics but you don't want to mess with any settings. Even if you wanted to, there are none to change. Sometimes I wish I could change settings, but the pics are just so good.http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Pr...OLPIX-L100.html

Great for personal use, but not professional grade. The 18 megapixel Canon EOS 7D is been getting rave reviews and looks pretty decent at only 1700 bucks. This however is possibly the most powerful camera, at a whopping 21 megapixels, which basically means you'll see definitions you didn't know existed. That's the kind of system you need for a job in photography, and at 4000 (including add-ons) it's priced to move.

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QUOTE (Qdeathstar @ Mar 13 2009, 01:45 AM)

The reason is that when heartless says something stupid, he really means it and believes it.

“They refer to me as an uneducated barbarian. Yes, we are barbarians. We want to be barbarians, it is an honored title to us. We shall rejuvenate the world. This world is near its end.”

No one needs more then maybe 5-8 megapixles for recreational use.If he's looking for a professional camera, he should go elsewhere for advice.

Of course, agreed. I have a cheap Casio I keep around for taking quick shots on the fly. But I also have an older, more venerable really, Olympus that functions on a more professional grade. It's kind of dead at the moment. Megapixels are a marketing ploy to get people to part with more money, unless you're looking to get a job taking photos. Then you really need the extra firepower.

Great pics, btw.

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QUOTE (Qdeathstar @ Mar 13 2009, 01:45 AM)

The reason is that when heartless says something stupid, he really means it and believes it.

“They refer to me as an uneducated barbarian. Yes, we are barbarians. We want to be barbarians, it is an honored title to us. We shall rejuvenate the world. This world is near its end.”

If you really want to get into photography, get a digital SLR style camera and 3 lens. One wide angle (all your lens get ED glass lens) like a 18-35 and a telephoto zoom 70-300 (or if you want to spend more 80-400) and then maybe a 105 macro lens. Hard to go wrong with a nice camera body and a wide range of lens like that. If you want point and shoot style (non removable lens) go with a canon. They make awesome point and shoot cameras. (their image sensors are amazing) For digital SLR I'd recommend either canon or nikon. Just make sure when you decide that you will want to stick with one or the other for a while because the lens from them arent exchangable between brands. You can buy a large selection of lens for any brand, but you cant use nikon lens on a canon body. ;-)